Copyright

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here, largely because, frankly, it takes a lot of time to get posts together in the way I have been. But I find that I miss having a record recipes I’ve made and what I thought of them, especially ones I’m likely to make again, like pickles and condiments. So, I’m going to start posting again, but much more informally.

So, that said, here’s a recipe for Chili-Garlic Sauce I made recently with hot peppers from my dad’s garden. I’m not sure exactly what kind they were; he couldn’t remember. They looked a bit like thai bird peppers, but a bit larger and very thin-walled, almost like smaller cayenne. The recipe is a mish-mash of several I found. I think it’s closest to Tuong Ot Toi – Vietnamese Chili-Garlic sauce – but it isn’t exactly that. It has some funkiness from the fish sauce, sweetness from the bell peppers and a nice lingering slow burn.

Chili-Garlic SauceYou can use just about any type of chili in this recipe; obviously the results will be somewhat different depending what type you use. You can also add more sweet peppers or leave them out entirely, depending how hot you want it.

Mince the chilies, bell peppers and garlic. Mix everything in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour/scoop into jars and screw on the lids. (This size batch made 4 4 oz jars, which is the same as 2 1/2 pint jars.) Leave the jars sit out on the counter for about two days to ferment. At this point, you can process in a boiling water bath if you want to store them on the shelf, otherwise they’ll store in the fridge for about a year.